Reputation of cycling - Page 3

This is brilliant stuff guys thank you
If I'm trying to some it up then,
From the early times say 1950-1998, doping was rife amongst cyclists of all levels, wether it was from amateurs trying to get themselves a cycling contract with a professional team or the greats trying to push themselves just that little bit further.
Then came operation puerto which seemed to spell the end for cycling as i saw it, how could the sport recover when so many big names were implicated.

However I feel that the sport is steadily reclaiming back some respect, yes there are athletes who continue to dope. But to me it seems this is soon becoming a minority, or am I being too hopeful considering I'm an outsider to the sport?

L_I_R

I think you have got to take in to account the very nature of the sport and what it entails.
The sport is probably the toughest endurance sport there is – and in many cases bodies are pushed to the absolute physical limit in pursuit of success at the very highest levels.

For example, one could ride Tour de France distance 3,000 miles in the 3 weeks, going at 15mph.
It may take you 200 hours to do so – but it can be done in three weeks without overtaxing the body too much.
Ramp up the speed to 25mph, for every single mile, the body then comes under enormous physical stress.

I have read quite a lot of books about the sport and the riders who have ridden in the game.
Robert Millar the great Scottish rider of the 1980/90’s said that some Tours de France were so tough that, in one year, it wasn’t until November that he had recovered from that years Tour de France (held in July).

If a guy like Millar – who was a superb cyclist – is saying this, you can take it that the sport at that stage was at the limit of endurance, drugs or not.

Funny, I recall Millar writing in Cycle Sport magazine in the mid-1990’s saying that he found it inexplicable how certain riders were able to climb without any discernible sign of stress. He put it this way,
“there is definitely something going on. I had three guys climbing beside me (Jalabert/Zulle/Rincon) on the Tourmalet. They didn’t even look like they were breathing. Can someone tell me how, climbing at 28kph up one of Europes steepest climbs, one can do so without opening their mouth to breath?”


Stephen Roche, himself 1987 Tour de France, commentating on Europsort in 1997, was gobsmacked at how easy the climbing appeared to be on the highest steeps.
If you've ever been to Alp D'Huez, you would see that the left hand side of each corner had a more gradual incline, compared to the right hand side of each corner.
Virenque/Pantani/Ullrich, were all using the right hand corner approach to each turn without any discernible effort.
Roche stated "Dave (Duffield), I don't know how these guys are doing that. We always cornered the Alppine climbs on the easier incline (on the left). Look at what these boys are doing, they're cornering on the steep side of each turn. Far harder, Dave. Far, far harder. And using massive amounts of energy in the process. I wouldn't be able to do - not with 2 weeks of riding in my legs".

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

I recall Herrera retiring because he got fed up of being dropped by big heavy guys on the climbs...

Bigger names had been caught doping in the 50's, 60's and 70's than had been implicated in Operation Puerto. The likes of Ulrich and Basso pale into insignificance when compared to Merckx, Anqutil, Moser and Maertens. OP further brought drugs in cycling to the attention of the masses but to those involved with the sport it really wasn't anything new, unless their head was buried well and truely in the sand...

and wasn't it Herrera who almost detsroyed Hinault in the mountains in '84?

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

Herrera worked Hinault over on the Alpe that year for a stage win. The following monster stage, Millar put in several huge attacks causing Hinault to self implode and lose quite a few more minutes.

I think Hinault finished second that year, over 10 minutes down on Fignon. Kelly through a tissyfit at the judges in the final time trial saying that the times had been altered and he should have won...

Herrera was the second man to win the Mountains jersey in all three Tours.

The reputation of cycling today and for the future shows promise, but it has a long
way to go before it becomes credible.

The agencies that control cycling and doping in the individual countries have to cooperate across country boundaries and with WADA. The testing process has
to be transparent and the evidence has to be irrefutable and consistent.

I think biological passports for all licensed cyclists is a step forward and I hope it
works. The cyclists have to cooperate, the team management has to make clean
riding a higher priority than winning or the same priority as winning, the countries have to honor the discpline given out to riders. You can't ride it Italy, but its OK
to ride everywhere else defeats doping controls.

As long as the win at all costs mentally exists in cycling, on the team level, on the
cyclists level, doping will continue.

I enjoy watching the cycling one day events and the tours. I am disappointed when riders are caught doping, but it doesn't dim my enthusiam and hope for cycling events. Usually it just means a cyclist who was doing well, doesn't get to finish the
tour.